Editor's Take: April 02, 2008
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Win for Washington State Kids
Washington's toy-safety bill "wobbled across the finish line" yesterday, as Gregoire signed the bill and hailed it as the strongest in the nation. Other top headlines includes bad news for Northwest pickle growers and fish farmers and some help for Oregonians hoping to understand the delegate system.
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Your editor today is Elisa Murray | View All Today's News
Gregoire Signs Toughest Toy Law in U.S.
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
04/02/2008
Toy safety rules that started as a strong sprint, then nearly stumbled out of the race, finally wobbled across the finish line Tuesday when Gov. Chris Gregoire signed into law the toughest standards in the nation.
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Trollers Support Closure of Salmon Season
Eugene Register Guard
04/02/2008
In a show of hands, most of the commercial trollers present said they preferred the third option: an unprecedented, West Coast-wide closure. No salmon caught in federal waters, with a few minuscule exceptions.
If that sounds like fishermen wishing demise upon themselves, it isn't, explained Jeff Reeves, vice chairman of the Oregon Salmon Commission. It's more of a reality check.
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Oregon Low-Income Housing Fund Gets Boost
Medford Mail-Tribune
04/02/2008
A total of $7 million in public and private funds will help keep affordable housing in Oregon from being sold at market rates.
Thirty years ago, Southern Oregon was a pioneer in using federal grants for building low-income apartments. But those contracts are expiring and many of the structures are falling into disrepair.
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B.C. Fish Farms Spread Sea Lice
CBC BC
04/01/2008
The latest scientific report on sea lice off the British Columbia coast says an infestation near Campbell River fish farms has spread beyond pink and chum salmon to juvenile sockeye and herring.
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NW Brands Reject Pickles from NW Growers
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
04/02/2008
On this rich rural land where tractors share the roads with cars, cucumber growers for decades have harvested their crops, which made their way onto pantry shelves in jars of Nalley, Farman's and Steinfeld's pickles that touted their Northwest roots.
That tradition is ending.
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Respiratory Infection Rates High in Alaska Natives
Anchorage Daily News
04/02/2008
Rural Alaska Natives in homes without running water experience far higher rates of pneumonia and other serious lower respiratory tract infections than do Natives in homes where water is readily available for bathing and hand-washing, according to a new study.
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Oregon Proposes Greenhouse Gas Reporting Rules
AP
04/02/2008
The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality is proposing new rules to require certain businesses to report greenhouse gas emissions.
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B.C. Brings in Low-Carbon Fuel Bill
Vancouver Sun
04/02/2008
The province wants gasoline and diesel sold in B.C. to contain five-per-cent renewable fuels by 2010, and on Tuesday gave itself the power to regulate fuel suppliers in meeting that goal.
At the same time, the province announced plans to level fines against high-polluting transport trucks as another measure aimed at reducing greenhouse-gas emissions from the transportation sector.
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New Hurdles for Idaho Wolves
Boise Idaho Statesman
04/02/2008
Supporters of an initiative demanding wolves be removed from Idaho say they are within an achievable 10,000 signatures of their goal with less than a month before the May 1 deadline for filing.
But organizers aren't sure how many of the people who have signed are registered voters in Idaho - a requirement for each of the 45,893 signatures needed to get the issue on the Nov. 4 ballot.
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Commentary: Voting with Bus Fares
Everett Herald
04/02/2008
Whether it's rising gas prices, worsening traffic or a growing green ethic -- or perhaps all three -- more and more commuters are getting on the bus.
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